


You're Enough for Me (if I'm Enough for You)

by AmberZ10



Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fairytale ending etc, anyway I guess it's gay Bly Manor Cinderella
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 21:15:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28998876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmberZ10/pseuds/AmberZ10
Summary: “For tonight, I’m Lady James of Lloyd.”“Just for tonight?”“n’ the two that come after."-A sort of, kind of Cinderella AU that it looks like only I wanted
Relationships: Dani Clayton/Jamie, Jamie/Viola Lloyd
Comments: 14
Kudos: 69





	1. Chapter 1

It took everything in Jamie not to read the letter.

Not that she was terribly invested in the contents.

This wasn’t the first time the distinguished Lady Viola of Lloyd had received post of this nature, on Bly Castle stationary, after all.

And still, there was something different this time, something in the weight of it, the gold leaf and thick wax seal…this wasn’t a routine update on royal to-dos meant for a banished cousin, this was… _something_ , and Jamie wanted to know exactly what. Why? For something to do, of course. Not that Jamie wasn’t fond of her boring little life in her boring little corner of the world. Not that she didn’t appreciate the tranquility the anonymity of this place provided, the solitude… Not that Jamie was ungrateful to the Lady for all she’d provided her. She just…appreciated the occasional break from monotony. Even if only for a moment. Even just a taste, a tease…it was enough. Whatever this letter held would be enough to tide her over.

“M’lady, the post arrived for you,” Jamie announced upon entering the drawing room, the Lady sprawled out on the couch in the center, a cup of tea balanced in the stiff folds of her skirt. “This one’s from The Castle, it seems. Your cousin Henry.”

“Yes, I know who’d be writing me from The Castle, thank you, Jamie,” Viola scoffed, snatching the letter from the younger woman’s outstretched hand. “And a less forgiving mistress would punish you for wandering eyes, don’t forget that.”

“Course. Thank you, Ma’am,” Jamie fought to control her smirk, mouth twisting at the corners, eyes falling to her feet. “They inviting you back, then?”

Viola chuckled at the notion. “Doubtful. Fetch me my letter opener. There, on the desk,” she instructed, directing Jamie with a vague wave of her hand.

Jamie silently obliged her, passing the knife to her handle first, and Viola ripped open the letter with a flourish, clearing her throat as she freed the paper within from its confines and settling back to read it.

“Oh God…” was her first verbal reaction.

Jamie braved a glance, observing her expression as it morphed under her attention.

“This won’t do. This simply won’t do.”

“M’lady?”

“Jamie, this is a disaster.”

The door to the kitchen opened then, Hannah sweeping into the room. “Another cuppa, Ma’am?”

“Hannah, how could anyone think of tea at a time like this?!” Viola demanded, incredulous. “They’re calling for my head!”

Jamie and Hannah startled backwards in unison.

“…Socially, I mean,” Viola clarified, noting the horror in both women’s expressions. “They wish to embarrass me, it would seem. Why else would they invite me to a festival of all things, knowing my husband’s run off?”

Hannah placed a delicate hand on her chest, taking deep, centering breaths. “What sort of festival?”

“Seems he is attempting to marry off that child he continues insisting was his all along,” Viola answered, setting her teacup aside to stand. “Regardless, it won’t do. Come, gather everyone in the kitchen, my reputation is at stake.”

And there it was, enough excitement for Jamie. “D’you need me, Ma’am? Roses on the east lawn need—,”

Viola stopped, blinking in Jamie’s direction. “I’m sorry, Ms. Taylor, are you not a member of ‘everyone’?”

“Yes, but I don’t see why—,”

“Honestly, the audacity,” Viola shook her head, exiting towards the kitchen before Jamie could finish her response.

Owen, Peter and Rebecca were already there waiting, Owen and Rebecca immediately shooting to their feet once The Lady entered, Peter following suit at a lackadaisical pace.

“At ease, soldiers,” Viola announced, her favorite little joke, waiting until Hannah and Jamie had filed in behind her, lining up with the rest before beginning in earnest. “My cousin, King Henry, royal pain in my arse, has asked me to the festival he’s throwing at Bly Castle. It will last three days and three nights, and at the end his daughter, Princess whatever-her-name-is—,”

“Danielle,” Rebecca offered, helpfully.

“Quite right,” Viola continued. “She’ll be married, and I’ll be reminded that I’m a lonely spinster wasting away in the country because I couldn’t keep a husband.”

“Be kind to yourself, My Lady,” Hannah pleaded. “That man was a scoundrel.”

“Yes, thank you, Hannah, I’m well aware,” Viola assured her. “But his departure has doomed me to a meaningless existence. I can’t show up to the castle unaccompanied, I’d expire right there on the spot. I will need someone on my arm and the question is do I bring Peter or Jamie?”

“Me?” Jamie’s eyebrows bounced in surprise.

“Her?” Peter was similarly scandalized.

“Yes…” Viola glanced between them, sizing the two up, appraising them thoughtfully. “While I’d appreciate a handsome man on my arm…Jamie was the better lay, if memory serves, and I would prefer to avoid disappointment if the situation turns dire, or, desperate.”

Peter’s jaw dropped open; Jamie lost control of her smirk completely.

“Take that as constructive criticism, Peter. And as a compliment, Jamie.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” she nodded, trying not to revel in her victory too long.

“Besides,” Viola sighed. “I couldn’t do that to poor Rebecca…then again, you might appreciate the reprieve, darling.”

“Whatever you think is best, Ma’am,” Rebecca was putting in a real effort to conceal the heat rushing to her cheeks.

“It’s decided, then,” Viola was resolute. “With Jamie gone, however, you four will need to pick up the slack. If we return and my gardens are in disarray… into the lake with you. Am I understood?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” they all responded, Peter’s words barely escaping his mouth through his clenched teeth.

“Wonderful,” Viola smiled, clapping once. “Back to work with you, then. Jamie, finish what you must outside, and we’ll head into town this afternoon to get you fitted for some suitable clothing.”

Now it was Jamie’s turn to flush. “Oh, Ma’am, I haven’t the money to—,”

Viola held a hand up to silence her. “That’s the last you’ll speak of poverty in my presence until we’ve returned from the festival. I’m fitting the bill. Now, go about your duties before I change my mind.”

/

“Yes, yes, yes, fuck! Yes!”

Jamie didn’t stop until the fluttering pulsations ceased around her fingers, the evidence of Viola’s pleasure dripping nearly to her elbow.

“Satisfied, m’lady?”

“Oh, stop, I haven’t the patience for your modesty,” Viola chastised, her breath still heaving in a staccato rhythm. “And memory does serve. You’ve readied the carriage?”

Jamie nodded, wiping her hand on her pantleg. “As per your instructions. I aim to please.”

That earned her an eyeroll, though it was accompanied by a practiced smirk on kiss-swollen lips. “It would seem you do, yes. Well, good, it will be a wonderful departure to see you in trousers without mud stains on the knees.”

“I’m a groundskeeper, Ma’am, mud stains are bound to happen.”

Viola waved her off. “Forget all that unpleasantness for the next three days. All I ask is for your company, and decorum. Do you think you can manage that?”

Jamie wasn’t sure of the honest answer to that question. Never in her 23 years had she even conceived of attending a function like this. Working for Lady Viola of Lloyd, cousin of the King, in her sprawling lakeside manor was one thing, but visiting Bly Castle as an invited guest for the King’s festival? Unheard of. A laughable suggestion, really. And yet, here she was, loading a trunk of clothes that’d been tailored to her into the carriage alongside her mistress’s things. 

Just like that, they were off, the reins in Jamie’s steady hands, Viola sitting comfortably inside, imposing hat perched elegantly upon her head.

“What’ve you heard of the Princess?” Jamie wondered roughly an hour into their 3-hour journey.

“Mm, it’s all rather scandalous, if you must know,” was Viola’s response.

“Oh?” Jamie glanced back; eyebrow raised in question. She wasn’t one to gossip, but their journey was far from over and casual conversation wasn’t something she’d ever attempted with Viola.

“Indeed…” Viola confirmed, hat discarded at this point, forehead resting softly against the side of the carriage. “Henry hadn’t any children of his own, and when Dominic died that left the crown without an heir. Until one day a child was left on the doorstep of the castle. Just…left there, bawling her little head off, the poor thing. Hannah was the one who found her if you can believe it. Another life, that was. Brought her indoors for a warm meal, and Henry, he—well, he was taken immediately. Something about the girl’s eyes…so much grief, for a child that age. I remember her shoulders sat so heavily. Broke my heart, back when I had one,” her self-deprecating chuckle was devoid of any humor. “So Henry said this Danielle had been his all along. Miles and Flora would come later, of course, after Charlotte forgave herself for preferring Henry over his dead brother. But the throne belongs to Danielle.”

“Hm,” Jamie frowned, accepting the information piece by piece. “And will she be a good Queen, this Danielle?”

“Am I meant to judge a queen on her temperament as a nine-year-old?” Viola challenged.

Jamie didn’t answer, as it wasn’t phrased like a real question.

“She’s pretty,” Viola carried on in the silence that followed. “Or, should be, if the years have been kind to her. Sometimes that’s enough.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Isn’t it a bit…I don’t know… _much_?”

“I don’t think so,” Flora dissented, resolute. “Perhaps you should twirl just once more, just for good measure.”

Dani obeyed, slower this time, watching the lift of her skirt as she spun. “I don’t know, Flora…I’m not sure you’re the most impartial judge.”

“Oh, Dani, you look so perfectly sp—,”

“Splendid, yes, I know,” Dani couldn’t help the affection in her chuckle, nor the little shake of her head as she stepped off the platform, ducking away from the mirrors. “I’ll save it. Would look better on you anyway, once you’re big enough.”

“But you’ll wear it tonight, won’t you?” Flora’s eyes were big and brown and soft and pleading. Made refusal a nearly Herculean effort. So, with a sigh and a smile, Dani acquiesced.

“For you, Flora. I’ll wear it for you and no one else.”

The little girl giggled. “But you can’t marry me, Dani, you’re my sister!”

“That I am,” Dani playfully ruffled her hair, then smoothed it lovingly, brushing it behind her ears. “You’ll help me decide, won’t you? You and Miles?”

Flora nodded rapidly in confirmation. “And if they’re all perfectly dreadful, we’ll—,”

“They won’t be,” a male voice interrupted, the two girls spinning to find Henry in the doorway. “I ensured every eligible suitor would be in attendance. I promise you will find at least one of them tolerable, Danielle.”

“Father, I feel like that much attention might be more harmful than—,”

“Three days, Danielle,” he cut her off again, though gentler this time, something like sympathy in his tone. Empathy, maybe. “You will have three days to sort through them. That is long enough to make an informed decision.”

“Three days for the rest of my life, right,” Dani disguised the roll of her eyes by taking another spin in her dress. “You don’t think this is too much…fabric?”

“It is…” Henry furrowed his brow, as if truly seeing her for the first time since entering the room. “It is, indeed, a lot of fabric. A bit much, really.”

“Thank you,” Dani breathed out a sigh of relief. She wasn’t crazy, but she did look it in a dress shaped like a tiered wedding cake.

“Mind the skirt, we cannot have you taking a tumble,” was the extent of Henry’s helpfulness.

/

It was nearly seven in the evening when the castle came into view for Jamie and Viola, the sun just beginning its descent behind it. The conditions made for a pretty picture that Jamie made sure to stow away in her memories for when the boredom returned.

“Wow…” Jamie found herself saying, eyes wide as she observed the scene before her.

“You’re easily impressed,” Viola snorted, placing her hat back atop her head as they neared their destination. “Jamie.”

“Hm?”

“Your hat and your coat. Put them on.”

By the time they reached the castle gates, Jamie had the golden buttons on her white coat fastened over her blouse, hat perched ever so precariously to avoid ruffling her curls too severely. Viola had helped with both, also ensuring the carriage wasn’t crashed in the interim.

“’m I meant to wear this all night?” Jamie wondered, carefully jumping down from her driver’s perch and handing the reins off to the valet before offering a hand to help Viola to the ground.

“The coat? Yes. The hat? No. That can be discarded once we’re announced.”

“’n how’ll I be announced?”

—

“Lady Viola and Lady James of Lloyd!” trumpeted the man stationed at the entrance of the grand hall, the one leading to the wide, open expanse of marble that had been converted to a dance floor for the purposes of the festival.

“Lady James?” Jamie snickered; Viola tucked in close to her side.

“Your parents named you a nickname, Ms. Taylor. The occasion called for something slightly more formal.”

“n’ I’m a Lady now, am I?”

“For the next three nights? Certainly. After that, bibbidi bobbidi boo,” she tapped the younger woman on the nose. “You are my groundskeeper again. I would not recommend getting too comfortable in the trappings of royalty.”

“Can’t imagine that’d be a problem, Ma’am.” Jamie followed Viola’s lead, allowing her hat to be taken. “A drink?”

Viola grinned. “You know me so well.”

/

 _This really is perfectly dreadful_ , Dani thought, as there was no one around to confide in. She was still nursing her first glass of wine, though if it were up to her, she’d have downed the whole bottle by this point.

She stood on the balcony, overlooking the party, her future subjects, _goodness, what a terrible thought_. Her husband could be somewhere down there, waiting. Waiting for her to decide, to take a chance, on him, on a future together. A future they’d sworn was up to her. A future they said was hers for the taking, hers for the choosing. And yet, in this time, in this place, surrounded by a sea of opportunity in the form of men, she’d never felt more trapped, more _stuck_. Paraded like a show pony in this horrible dress with too much fabric under the guise of control. The lie that she was in control.

Dani wouldn’t choose any of this. Not the party, not the dress, not the people. She didn’t know them—didn’t know her people, her Father’s subjects. And yet, she was expected to rule. To preside with a fair and steady hand. What a terrifying concept—control. She’d prefer agency.

“Sir Edmund for the Princess.”

The announcement ripped Dani from her thoughts, and she spun, dress billowing regrettably, to find Eddie—Sir Edmund standing before her. Handsome, in that boyish way he’d always look to her. That reminder of a childhood they’d never truly escape.

“Danielle,” he smiled at her, pliant and nonthreatening, stepping forward into her space, but only when his smile was returned. “I nearly forgot myself. You are a vision.”

The princess didn’t squirm under his attention, nor did she blush. “That’s kind of you, Eddie. I’m afraid I don’t quite feel like myself tonight.”

“I would say you have never looked better,” he thought it a compliment. Dani wasn’t so sure.

Her expression was kind…blank. She motioned him over with a nod of her head. “Can’t believe they’re all here for me.”

“It was inevitable, was it not?” he questioned, standing beside her on the balcony, their placement and proximity feeling natural, but not quite right. “The Festival? You knew you would have to choose husband eventually.”

Dani shrugged. “Maybe I didn’t want to think of marriage as an inevitability. Maybe I wanted to start with love and see where that took me.”

“Danielle…”

“It’s Dani, Eddie, really. I may be stuffed full of ruffles for their viewing pleasure, but I’m still me. Still the girl who played swords with you in the courtyard,” Dani was doing a poor job of hiding her annoyance. “A festival in my honor doesn’t change that. Nor will becoming Queen.”

“It will, though,” Eddie disagreed, turning fully to her now. “Of course it will, Dani.”

“But why does it have to?” she pleaded, suddenly close to tears.

“Marry me.”

“What?”

“Marry me, Danielle. Maybe then it won’t. Maybe then you will only have to change for them, not for me.” He reached forward to take her hands and she let him. Let him look into her eyes, his deep, dark irises betraying a want that suddenly made her want to recoil.

A want like that, it had no place between them, and so she ripped her hands away as though she’d been burned, hot tears spilling down her cheeks freely now. It felt like a betrayal, one she couldn’t put into words, one she couldn’t sit in long enough to dissect.

So, she fled. Away from the balcony, away from Eddie, down the stairs, cutting through the servant’s quarters rather than the dance floor until she could take in a lungful of sweet summer evening air.

She gulped at it, the stillness, the peace, the tranquility of a moment’s anonymity, sniffling pathetically as she did.

“Y’alright?”

Dani froze at the strange voice. A female voice with a lilt and a rasped edge that made Dani want to turn and look. But she didn’t, instead staring resolutely ahead, fighting to get her tears and her breathing and her _panic_ under control.

“It’ll run ya ragged, a party like that. Couldn’t stand more than a few minutes m’self.”

Dani just nodded, still not wanting to reveal what a mess she was to this stranger.

Soft footsteps—boots—on cobblestone told her the woman was closer now. “Is people really—all’v’em,” she elaborated when Dani didn’t respond. “Is why I prefer plants…easier to get along with, I find. Less chance of’em cornerin’ ya into company you’re not after.”

“Plants?” Dani sniffed, wiping her nose less than elegantly.

“Mm,” the woman grunted, taking another step. “Plus, I find when one looks at me kinda funny—a plant, I mean. I can…well, the bit’s better if you’re lookin’, but—you’ll find it’s a lot easier to behead flowers than people. Less drama, less tears to the thing. So…if it’s party-going advice you’re after, I’d just…start there…”

Dani found herself laughing, a sad, desperate little sound, as if happiness were suddenly so foreign. And then she turned, and God she…she really…really wished she hadn’t, because standing before her was the most breathtaking sight she’d ever—

“There we are…” the woman smiled at her, completely dashing and instantly unforgettable. “Name’s Jamie, not that you asked…I just don’t want to be a stranger if’ya need a friend.”

“I’m—I’m,” oh God, this woman—Jamie—not a stranger anymore, had gone and stolen the words from her throat. “I’m pleased to know you.”

Jamie laughed at that, an altogether pleasant sound, cut with the same rasp her voice was. “I’d like to, but I’ll need your name first, M’lady.”

“Dani, I’m…you can call me Dani.”

“Dani,” Jamie repeated, taking another step forward, out of the shadows completely now, a lopsided grin completing her ensemble. “The pleasure is all mine.” She took Dani’s hand in her own, raising it gently to her lips to place a soft kiss on her knuckles.

The blonde did her best not to shudder at the contact. “Thank you for—well—speaking to me, I suppose. Not sure what came over me earlier, I—,”

Jamie just shook her head. “No thanks necessary. Meant what I said about parties. Can’t imagine another two nights of this.”

“Goodness, you have no idea,” Dani shook her head, fighting the urge to run a nervous hand through her hair. “Are you—do you live in Bly?”

Again, Jamie shook her head, her dark curls bound in a loose tie at the base of her neck, bangs pushed back from her forehead. “For tonight, I’m Lady James of Lloyd.”

“Just for tonight?”

“n’ the two that come after,” there was a twinkle in her green eyes—a spark that brought a flush to Dani’s cheeks. “We don’t ‘ave’to go back in, if you don’t want, but could I ‘ave a dance, Dani?”

The thicker her accent, the more charmed Dani became. Or, maybe the more charming she meant to be, the thicker she made her accent…either way, Dani didn’t hesitate to accept the invitation, letting Jamie lead her around to the castle’s front courtyard where music could be heard wafting through the open doors.

“This dress is…”

Dani braced herself for a compliment she’d rather not accept. 

“…a lot,” Jamie finished with a laugh, placing her hands on Dani’s waist and swaying slowly back and forth in time with the music until Dani rested a hand on her shoulder and clasped the other in her own. “A shockin’ amount of fabric, really. You’re practically drownin’ in it, love.”

Dani laughed too, suddenly weightless as Jamie led her in twirling circles around the fountain at the center of the courtyard. “I notice you waited until I’d accepted your invitation to dance before insulting me. A shrewd strategy, Lady James of Lloyd.”

“It’s a practiced routine, ‘v’that I can assure you.”

“Mm, I’m sure,” Dani’s laugh turned to a giggle as she was spun and dipped. “And this has worked before? On other princesses?”

“I reckon I wouldn’t be quite so smooth ‘round the Princess,” Jamie smiled that lopsided smile, slowing them to a stop while the band ended their song to begin another. “Never met one of those before, m’afraid. But crying girls near the servant’s quarters? That, I can handle.”

 _Oh…she doesn’t…huh._ “I’d say you’re doing just fine, actually.”

“Hm?”

“I can’t speak for any other princesses, but—,”

“Danielle!” Henry’s voice bellowed from the castle’s entrance, Dani flinching in response, Jamie looking up at him in confusion.

“Jesus, that’s the King.”

“Yes,” Dani sighed, separating from Jamie despite every muscle in her body screaming for her to stay put. “It is. And I’m…needed, it seems.”

“Because you’re…”

“Uh, Princess Danielle of, um, Bly,” she added an awkward little curtsey. “You’ll be here tomorrow night, you said?”

“Yes, I—,”

“Good,” Dani took a step back as her father looked on, she and Jamie’s fingers slowly untangling. “Find me, won’t you?”


	3. Chapter 3

Jamie returned to the castle in a daze, the princess’ phantom touch still lingering. She was sure she’d never seen anyone or anything more beautiful in the entirety of her sorry existence. Princess Danielle—Dani—with her soft features…her bright eyes…her wide smile…happy, if only for a moment. That moment with Jamie in the courtyard, swaying to the music, their bodies pressed together, bathed in moonlight.

“And where in the world did you run off to?” Viola demanded, more than a few glasses in by this point, but still a few away from stumbling.

“You were wantin’ me to mingle…”

“Yes, on my behalf!” Viola’s irritation passed quickly, replaced with curiosity at the dazed expression Jamie was still wearing. “You didn’t go and fall in love, now did you?”

“No, I—well,” Jamie reconsidered. “Who’s to say, really?”

“Fine, be a vague bitch, see if I care,” Viola’s attention had wandered, her dark eyes scanning the crowd for people to avoid. “I suppose we should dance, then. Make it clear I did not come here alone before retiring for the night. Do you know the waltz, Jamie?” she didn’t wait for the younger woman to respond. “Of course you do, how else would you get a naïve young woman into your bed?”

“I’ve a few other strategies, m’lady, but I do know the waltz, yes,” Jamie confirmed with a smirk, leading her mistress onto the dancefloor, a chorus of eyes following in their wake. “Is this what you were hopin’ for when you brought me? This sort’ve…attention?”

Viola took up the position Dani had been in only moments before, though Viola wasn’t leaning into her the same way, wasn’t holding onto her like a lifeline despite the smile on her face. “I felt I needed to make a statement,” Viola confirmed. “Thought you’d do the trick. And that tailor did a marvelous job, now that I’m on the subject. I was not expecting you to look quite so handsome.”

“Happy accident, then.”

“The happiest.”

Jamie smiled at that, slowing her movements to allow them to look. If she was here to make a statement, to prove a point, then she was going to make the most of it. A small price to pay for the kindness Viola had shown her. Plucking her off the street, offering her employment, a warm place to lay her head…all she’d ever asked in return was hard work, a job well done…and the occasional tumble in the hay, but who’s gonna fault her for that, really? Her husband was gone, Jamie was not, and her only other choice was Peter-fucking-Quint.

“Is this why you stay shuttered up at the manor?” Jamie wondered when the attention didn’t cease. “Cuz this is the alternative? Wonderin’ eyes and trite smiles and all the ugly stuff in between?”

Viola sighed, though not out of dejection—her posture remained straight, head held high. “You give me too little credit, Jamie. I’d have walked into my lake long ago with rocks in my pockets if the whispered conversations of people whose company I’ve never enjoyed truly meant anything to me.”

“So you just enjoy my company, then?”

“Mm, it’s Hannah’s I find the least tiresome,” Viola smiled with a genuine humor. “I didn’t marry him out of love. That was never my design. So I suppose it’s…embarrassing, how I miss him. See, I always assumed I was too clever for love. And yet, there I was, with a beautiful daughter and a husband I looked forward to crawling into bed next to. A horrible thing, really, that sort of devotion. And it turns out I’m the only one who felt it all along. Arthur, he’s…”

“Run off with your sister,” Jamie supplied.

“And taken my daughter with him,” Viola continued. “And I’m…dancing with my gardener in a room full of people who’d like nothing more than to kick me while I’m down. That’s why I stay shuttered up at the manor—because it’s my home. Mine, and he can’t take it from me. And that’s why I’m here today—I’ve no interest in playing the victim, and I won’t take their kicks lying down.”

/

“Well?” Flora was kneeling on Dani’s bed, obvious excitement coiled within her posture. “Have you found someone to fall in love with?”

“I’m not sure Father is all that concerned with my love life, Flora,” Dani sighed. “The goal is to find a husband.”

“Who you’re in love with!”

“Right,” Dani chuckled at her naivety, cautiously watching her own reflection in the mirror for the signs of melancholy that so often stared back at her as she removed her jewelry. “I did meet someone…” she bit her lip at the thought of her dance around the courtyard, trying her best to contain her smile to something that wouldn’t add fuel to Flora’s fire.

“Did you really?” Flora sat forward, engaged. “Who? Who did you meet?”

“I’m…I’m not sure, really,” Dani forfeited to the butterflies taking flight in her stomach at the thought of the somewhat mysterious Lady James of Lloyd.

“Did you dance?”

“Yes,” Dani grinned, flushing further at the memory.

“And was it terribly romantic?”

“Yes,” she admitted with a wistful sigh, flopping back onto the bed beside Flora. “I’ve never met anyone like her.”

At this, Flora frowned, sitting down on her butt, crossing her legs, and turning to face her sister. “Can your husband be a woman, Dani?”

The blonde shrugged. “Maybe not. Probably not,” she amended. “But I—I’m having a hard time not thinking about her.”

“I’d rather like to have two queens,” Flora decided, her nod resolute. “Boys are silly. Even Miles can be silly, and he’s my favorite boy.”

“Mine too,” Dani agreed, shifting her focus from the ceiling to the girl sat beside her. “I hope I’ll see her again.”

Flora tilted her head. “And why wouldn’t you?”

“Well, she…she didn’t know she was…dancing with a Princess, Flora. I’m—see, my—well, my position could make things…difficult.”

“Who wouldn’t want do dance with a princess?”

“Someone who wasn’t expecting to.”

The girl’s brow furrowed again. “Will you introduce us?”

“Who? You and Jamie?”

“Her name is Jamie?”

“Or James, I’m not sure,” Dani laughed.

“Introduce us.”

“Why?”

“I need to tell her how easy it is to fall in love with you. The simplest thing, really.”

Still laughing, Dani assured her, “That won’t be necessary.”

“You said you would let Miles and I help you choose!”

/

“M’lady, please, you know I’m atta disadvantage here. You ‘ave’ta help me choose,” Jamie huffed, holding one jacket up and then the other before the grand mirror that would never cease to feel like a luxury.

Viola groaned from where she was still laying in bed, one arm flopped dramatically over her eyes to keep out the afternoon sun. “You should not have allowed me to overindulge to such a degree last night.”

“Can’t imagine me calling you drunk would go over well,” Jamie reminded her, still somewhat distracted by the wardrobe she was picking through. “Which would you suggest? The blue or the red?”

With a grunt of exertion, Viola finally pushed herself onto her elbows, staring at Jamie from across the room. “Is this panic over your appearance for my benefit or whatever woman you managed to steal away with last night?”

Jamie scoffed. “Panic?”

“Anything more passionate than a shrug or a smirk from you constitutes some degree of alarm. Wear the blue, please,” Viola waved at the jacket in question, pulling herself out of bed for the fist time that day.

“With the white pants?”

“Obviously,” Viola rolled her eyes, ringing the servant bell and waiting for a knock at their door. “When you finally bed her, I suggest you start with your mouth, you are rather talented in that respect…though I suppose that’s hardly news to you.”

“Blimey,” Jamie coughed, tossing the red coat aside. “I’ll, uh, remember that.”

“Have you eaten?” was Viola’s next question, as if it were the most natural pivot in the world.

“Had some eggs s’morning. Miss Owen’s cookin’,” Jamie admitted.

Viola nodded in agreement. “You’ll miss it wherever you go.”

/

The second night of the festival brought along a different atmosphere than the first. People were mingling more freely, having finished with most of their introductions the night before. The women were now free to spend their time with those whose company they preferred, and the men were free to, well, seek out Dani, it seemed.

The princess felt as if she hadn’t had a free moment all night long, and each second, each minute of feigned interest in whatever eligible bachelor was bloviating in her direction seemed a heinous torture. She had half a mind to retire to her bedchambers after a particularly long winded chat with a gentleman who she couldn’t imagine sharing her life with if he were the last remaining human being on earth…when she felt it, a light tap on the shoulder, a heated gaze on her back…

“Jamie,” she breathed before she’d even fully turned around, her heartrate picking up speed, stomach lurching once she finally had the young woman in her sights. “You found me.”

“Saved you, by the looks of it,” the brunette grinned, offering her hand to Dani. “Are you ready for our grand escape, Princess?”

“Goodness, yes,” Dani’s laugh was relieved as she allowed herself to be led away from the gaggle of men who’d been waiting for their chance to charm her. _Too late_ … “Where are we going?”

“Brilliant question,” Jamie’s smile was fond, her hair pinned up rather than down this time, looking so handsome and elegant in the richness of her deep blue coat that Dani nearly forgot herself. “I don’t live here, do I? Was hopin’ you’d take us somewhere we could be alone.”

 _Alone_ …Dani liked the sound of that.

She stalled briefly, considering for a moment before growing a smile to match Jamie’s, adding a “This way,” and tugging the other woman towards the same servant’s exit she’d taken the night before. Rather than circling around to the courtyard, however, Dani steered them down the back lawn, moving as quickly as she could manage in the (thankfully more understated) dress she’d chosen for the evening. Jamie jogged amiably beside her the whole time, never questioning their direction.

Eventually, they ended up in the royal stables, Dani slowing to a stop once they made it through the doors, the sounds of the party barely audible, far off in the distance.

Dani found her chest was heaving, exertion and anticipation—for what, she wasn’t sure—collaborating to steal her breath from her, just as the simple sight of Jamie had the night before. “I haven’t—it’s been impossible not to think about you,” Dani admitted before her apprehension could rob her of the truth.

Jamie had yet to let go of her hand. “I’m hardly worth a second thought.”

Shaking her head, Dani pressed on. “It’s entirely possible you’re magic. I hardly know you yet a single look in your direction brings me such…peace. I think…perhaps, you can see me.”

“I do…I can…” Jamie murmured, watching her, studying…allowing Dani time to pick apart the tapestry of greens and blues that made up the unique color of Jamie’s eyes, never exactly one thing, always shifting, liquid in the silver moonlight. “Is this…peace?” she asked, lifting her hand to place it delicately on Dani’s chest, over her heart, feeling the muscle beat rapidly beneath her fingers.

Dani puffed out a breath of laughter. “Among other things.”

“’M…a bit curious ‘bout the other things.”

And just like that, Dani couldn’t help herself. Just like that, the sight and the thought of Jamie’s lips—their shape, their taste, their texture—became too much to resist, too tantalizing to stop herself from pressing forward, her hand resting at the base of Jamie’s jaw, the other wrapping itself in the mess of curls that Jamie had managed to tame for the time being.

Jamie hardly hesitated before kissing back, granting Dani the most intense pleasure, most intense relief, she’d felt in the whole of her 18 years. Dani’s tongue ran along Jamie’s lower lip and she quickly welcomed it into her mouth, her own sliding against it as their lips shifted with hardly the awkwardness Dani was expecting from her first meaningful kiss.

“You’re awfully—,” Jamie backed her up against the nearest stable, “Forward,” Dani moaned when Jamie’s wet lips and warm tongue traveled along her jaw, moving to the hinge to suckle just below her ear, “Princess.”

“If we only have three days, Lady James of Lloyd,” Dani stopped to gasp at the teeth gently scraping across her neck. “Why wait?”


End file.
